The months following graduation are certainly an adjustment. For me, I went from living with my four best friends and always having them around to living with my parents and having very few friends even living in the same city. Coronavirus adds more of a challenge to this already difficult adjustment. Trips to see each other are virtually impossible and zoom hangouts are just not the same. There are however some ways to spice up the average zoom call and connect with your friends in other ways. Here are some ideas on how to do this:
Write Letters
I am not sure if it is just me, but there is something so fun and old-fashioned about writing letters. It is truly a lost art form. Plus, everyone loves getting mail! There is something that feels quite meaningful when you receive a letter from a friend or family member. It shows that you care and put thought into something for them. Also, it is something that they can hold onto forever. Add-ins can spice up the letter writing. If you and your friends all like to cook, maybe add in one of your favorite recipes. If you like to make friendship bracelets, add one of those in there! Letter writing is fun to do and to receive!
Zoom Game Nights
The average zoom catch-up can get a little dull sometimes when you think about how much fun you have with your friends when you are all together, but it does not have to be that way. There are so many fun things you can do. During my senior year of college, my friends and I were obsessed with the Jackbox.tv game packs. Quiplash was the game that we would throw on to pregame, postgame, or just on lazy afternoons in. This game and all the Jackbox.tv games lend well to zoom game nights because you get to login on your phone and play while someone shares their screen. These are the types of games that will have you all laughing out loud. Skribbl is another fun and easy game to play together over video chat. It is basically like Pictionary, but online. Even if you are not the best artist, this game is tons of fun!
Prank Gifts
Not everyone enjoys pranking, so this one might not be for you, but as someone who grew up with a Dad who loves to prank, this idea excites me a lot. I actually got this idea from one of my dad’s pranks. The idea here is to send a friend something silly or inappropriate, whatever the vibe of you group is, and then try to pass it off whenever you all get together. One example of a funny gift is a little plastic boob stress ball. The fun in this is to see who will get stuck with it. I am excited to try this with my friends because I think it will make the trip when we get together a lot more fun. Also, it will be interesting to see if the person I send it to first with decide to send it on or wait until we all get together
Zoom cooking or drink making
This idea requires a bit of foresight and preparation, but if you are willing to put in the effort, it could be really fun and different. I love to cook in general but cooking with friends makes it so much better! Have someone from your friend group pick a recipe that they want to all teach you to make. They can send the ingredients list a few days before and then plan the zoom to make it together. This would also work with fun beverages as well. I know I sometimes wish I was a bartender, so this is a fun way to live out the dream. Obviously, this is higher effort than other activities, but if you plan someone new to host every first Tuesday of the month, for example, it would be spaced out enough to not be overwhelming.
Collaborative projects
If you, like me, enjoy a little bit of an artistic outlet, this idea is great for you! You can buy a canvas or a collage board and send it to one of your friends to start the project and then have them send it on for each friend to add something more. Even if not all of your friends are super artistic, you will still end up with a fun keepsake. And if you are really worried about how it will turn out, you can always send it to your least artistic friend first, so they just have to worry about background. I would also recommend a picture collage if you are feeling less ambitious. For those artistic groups of friends, a canvas for each person to paint a part might be the right choice. This could be a project that you all really enjoy and maybe all your friends will end up wanting one of their own!
Just because there is a pandemic going on, does not mean that you have to lose touch with your friends that live far away. If you are worried that your friends may not be interested in doing one of these activities, I think that they will surprise you. Everyone craves some amount of social interaction and during this time a lot of people are feeling that they do not have enough. One of these ideas might be just the thing to bring you all back in touch and keep a more consistent connection.
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